The longtime NBA player has shined in his rookie year as a basketball analyst, but his viral takedown of Chris Russo this week on ESPN’s First Take showed what makes him special
JJ Redick’s emergence as a rising star for ESPN since joining the network as a basketball analyst in October has been one of the more notable stories in US sports media over the past year.
The 37-year-old Redick, who launched a popular podcast while he was still a player, spent 15 seasons in the NBA after a decorated four-year stint at Duke, where he was the consensus national college basketball player of the year in 2006. He’s brought the keen insight and deep knowledge of an ex-pro to the broadcasting booth, but it’s been his regular appearances on ESPN’s breakfast-time debate show First Take that have made the biggest splash.
